Inside the Center for Culinary Arts USDA Theater: "Malabon's Best" Class

Disclosure: As part of my invite to the Manila Food and Wine Festival 2013, I got a free pass to one of the Center for Culinary Arts Manila's two hour-long cooking classes. Still, this review is going to be unsugarcoated: praise what needs to be praised, criticize what needs to be criticized.

 

The "Malabon's Best" class was a demonstration cooking class that focused on Filipino rice cakes. The class was headed by Ms. Annie Pascual Guerrero, a proud native of Malabon. It was held last February 23 at the USDA Theater of the Center for Culinary Arts (CCA)-Manila in Katipunan.

From what I know, the USDA Theater was the result of the partnership between the United States Department of Agriculture and CCA. The USDA provided the culinary school with equipment for a fully equipped training facility, complete with audio-visual capabilities.

It was my first time to enter the CCA grounds. I approached the guard, expecting to be asked for some identification or purpose of my visit. I asked him where the USDA Theater was located and he pointed me inside. I was not asked to present any ID or to sign in any logbook. Part of me was touched at manong guard's vote of confidence on me being a good guy but part of me wished he was stricter in letting visitors in.

Moonleaf Tea Shop @ Katipunan

After gorging on chicken wings and bagnet at B. Wings, we stumbled upon a nearby Moonleaf Tea Shop branch. I'd been meaning to try Moonleaf but never got around to doing that, so seeing this branch was a good opportunity.

yogurt milk tea - P85  ||  vanilla milk tea with pearls - P85

We tried the yogurt milk tea and vanilla milk tea with pearls. I was glad to learn that Moon Leaf's milk teas have a good strong taste, compared to other milk teas where the tea seems to be only an afterthought. Of the two flavors we ordered, I prefer the vanilla milk tea.

Moshi Moshi Japanese Fast Food Restaurant (Katipunan)

Moshi Moshi is a Japanese fast food joint located in Regis Tower in Katipunan, sharing the same floor with Saint's Alp Teahouse and other foodie havens. This resto serves various rice bowls, bento boxes, snacks, vegetable salads, drinks, and desserts.

moshi moshi = "Hello" or "Hi" when answering the phone

Taste

I've read good reviews about this place so we decided to go here for a light dinner. We ordered Takoyaki, Tendon, California Roll, Shoyu Ramen, a slice of cheesecake for dessert, and Lemon Iced Tea and Apple Iced Tea to wash them all down. I was hoping to try their Okonomiyaki; unfortunately, it was not available during our visit.

I liked the takoyaki. Not much octopus inside but the balls were soft and the sauce, mayo, and bonito flakes boosted the yumminess. I should have ordered the bigger set (10pcs).

Takoyaki (6pcs) - P55

Chicken Wings and Bagnet at B. Wings in Katipunan

B. Wings is a casual restaurant located in Katipunan. This resto serves chicken wings, bagnet, and fish.

Taste

B. Wings offers two kinds of buffalo wings: originals and specials. The original-style buffalo wings are available in three levels of heat: mild (mildly-spiced sauce with a touch of honey for sweetness), medium (medium spiced with a cheesy flavor) and hot (hot and flavored with herbs and spices such as jalapenos, habaneros, and siling labuyo). There are four kind of special wings flavors: Barack Opakpak (hot flavored using fresh herbs and spices such as African chillies with a touch of cilantro), Black Mamba Wings (Mexican mole-inspired, the bitter-sweetness of cocoa combined with spicy chillies), Caramelized Wings (mildly-spiced with a hint of peanut butter), and P-Noy Wings (non-spicy, flavored using dried herbs and spices, sinigang-like fried chicken with dayap undertones).

For each pound of chicken wings, you can choose two flavors. B. Wings' bagnet, meanwhile, is available in these flavors: Bicol Express, Binagoongan, Dinuguan, and Kare-Kare with Bagoong.